


I promise I'll do better

by highfunctioningsupersoldiersociopath



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst?, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Civil War (Marvel), Dad!Tony, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Fluff and Angst, Songfic, Spider-Man: Homecoming - Freeform, fluff?, my first peter&tony fic :))
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 12:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16096070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highfunctioningsupersoldiersociopath/pseuds/highfunctioningsupersoldiersociopath
Summary: An exploration into the relationship between the man of iron and the spider-boy.





	I promise I'll do better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inthelittlegenny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthelittlegenny/gifts).



> I was listening to Light by Sleeping At Last and I was like ‘oh heck, y’know who this fits?’ Well, here’s what I wrote. Slight AU where the events of Infinity War aren’t fatal because it HuRtS me. I’m really sorry if it doesn’t make any sense - it’s longer than I expected.  
> Happy birthday, dearest chum!

_May these words be the first to find your ears._

 

Tony wanted to be the one who broke the news to the young man whose picture filled his screen. He wanted him on his side. Not just because he would be an extra playing card, but the kid had brains as well as brawn. Aside from the high grades, Peter Benjamin Parker had learnt to adapt to the sudden heightened senses and strength. Tony’s sources informed him that the teenager had developed a formula that created a substance, not unlike an actual spider’s web: strong enough to hold down the everyday bicycle thief or bank robber. With the right tuition and guidance, Peter had the potential to create something amazing.

So although he might withhold information about the Accords for now, he needed the kid’s enthusiasm to fight for what was right, and he wanted to be the one to convince him to join his team.

And that was why he was currently hiding a date under his tongue and flirting with the boy’s Aunt.

 

_The world is brighter than the sun now that you’re here._

 

Tony could relate to losing both parents at once, he could relate to the pain of not being able to see them again, wanting to go back in time to ensure the last thing he says to them is that he loves them. He never knew his grandparents so he couldn’t necessarily relate to that but it only increased his admiration for the kid’s attitude and his aptitude for knowing that family doesn't necessarily end in blood.

He could also relate to the need to make the world a better place; they both had that in common, although he had dealt with bigger threats than some douchebag trying to steal an old lady’s purse.

Ever since he had been visited by the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nicholas Fury, he had set up a system that would monitor the activity of the ‘heroes’ and vigilantes of the world. Naturally, he was more interested in the ones closer to home, and a web-slinging ‘Spider-man’ had caught his attention. There was a spark of hope that had been ignited then, by the knowledge that when he gets too old to fight anymore, or, god forbid, killed in action, right there was the next generation of crime fighters.

His work as an Avenger had allowed him to understand that sometimes you had to step away from the big picture and inspect the individual puzzle piece, and this boy was one of those, perhaps even an all-important corner piece. The boy was making the small world of Queens a brighter place, and pride swelled In Tony’s chest because this kid had helped him fight for what he thought was right, and those old ladies and bicycle thieves didn’t even know it.

 

_Though your eyes will need some time to adjust to the overwhelming light surrounding us…_

 

Occasionally, Peter would receive texts from the man Tony Stark himself instead of Happy and it would make his day just that little bit brighter and he wouldn’t realise he had a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eyes, or a smile on his face until someone pointed it out to him. One day it would be Ned or Michelle, the next Aunt May or Mr Delmar.

They were rare, and oftentimes inconsequential, sure, but they made him feel like he was given a sense of purpose and a chance to live again, to do things right; all the mistakes that had been made were washed off the slate: tabula rasa.

Sometimes he likened knowing Tony Stark to when you enter a pitch black tunnel, but when your eyes have finally adjusted, you could see that the light at the end wasn’t that far away at all.

 

_‘Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know. I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so._

 

Tony can’t remember the last time he felt the need to raise his voice at Peter but the ferry that was now in two pieces had pushed him to the end of his tether. He didn’t want to pull the adult card, and he hated sounding like his dad, but some lessons just have to be learnt the hard way; sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. He didn’t need Peter’s death on his conscience, the kid was only fifteen. That would destroy him even more than the events of New York had five years ago.

“Please, this is all I have. I’m nothing without this suit.”

Peter’s desperation almost made Tony cave but he stood his ground. Is this how parents feel when dealing with stubborn teenagers?

“If you’re nothing without the suit then you shouldn’t have it.”

Tony didn’t think that Peter realised how much he was loved by the people around him, perhaps there weren’t all that many, but the few who mattered - mattered. He needed to take the suit away to force Peter to realise there was more to life than saving random strangers. Sometimes you had to save your family by simply being there, a luxury not everyone had.

 

_Though your heart is far too young to realise the unimaginable light you hold inside._

 

The panic and concern rose in Tony’s chest like the bile in his throat. F.R.I.D.A.Y. had just alerted him to the collapse of a warehouse building, and the last known whereabouts of Peter had been in that area. Of course, he had been keeping tabs. It was like watching a bad horror movie, wanting to insert oneself into the storyline and prevent anything bad from happening, or at least to tell the protagonist to stop being so stupid.

But he had to let the kid learn that he doesn’t need a suit to be a hero.

He was so much more than that.

Tony looked away from the screen in front of him, searching for where he had left his decanter. Pushing out his chair away from the desk, he felt the sluggish drag on his limbs and he immediately hoped there was at least _some_ alcohol left.

“Keep me updated, F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” he instructed the A.I.

(Sometimes he missed Jarvis’s sarcasm.)

He needed a drink, and if the kid pulled through, then maybe he would break the silence between them.

 

_I’ll give you everything I have, I’ll teach you everything I know, I promise I’ll do better._

 

Silence lay over the room like a thick, heavy blanket. It wasn’t the warm kind that’s good to snuggle under during winter but the oppressive kind where if you weren’t careful, you’d be suffocated under its weight.

That made the chemistry test extremely difficult to focus on.

It was like someone had decided to rearrange the letters of the alphabet when he wasn’t looking because none of the questions made any sense; he knew that equation was unbalanced, but he couldn’t figure out how. Therefore, it was like stumbling upon an oasis in the middle of the desert when the ping of his phone sounded from his bag and echoed around the room.

His classmates looked up, looked around, then went back to the paper in front of them - they couldn’t care less if he got in trouble, they couldn’t have cared less when the teacher looked up from her desk at the front of the class and shot a warning glare right in his direction.

“Mr Parker, I hope that wasn’t _your_ phone ringing.”

“No, Miss. Sorry,” Peter replied as he deftly reached under his desk and into his bag to put the device on silent. He would have much preferred to see who had messaged him, but he had a test to complete and Aunt May would be furious if he didn’t complete it, let alone ace it.

Not to mention how disappointed Mr Stark would be if he found out. Peter wasn’t sure he could handle that.

Suddenly the silence wasn’t quite so oppressive and now he could see that there were too many carbons in the product of the equation.

 

_I will always hold you close, but I will learn to let you go, I promise I’ll do better._

 

_Hey kid, wanna get out of there and come over to my lab? It’s more interesting than History or whatever class you’re in next._

_Sorry, Mr Stark, I can’t skip today._

He wanted to ask if Tony was still mad at him but decided that could wait until they spoke in person. As an after-thought, he typed:

_Wait, why do you know my timetable?_

The three dots appeared, showing that Tony was typing and the butterflies in Peter’s gut decided it would be a good time to flutter about. Does that mean he cares?

_I’ll see you after school, then. Happy will pick you up. Don’t tell your Aunt._

He couldn’t help but notice that Mr Stark hadn’t answered his question, instead choosing to ignore it. The butterflies settled back down in dissatisfaction.

The din of the lunch hall was muted to his ears, a complete contrast to how sensitive they usually were, as he typed in a short reply that would confirm he had read and understood the message.

“So, that chem test was a bitch, huh?” Ned greeted him as he slid into the seat next to Peter, placing his lunch tray down with a resolute clang.

“Yeah,” Peter agreed non-committedly, his mind elsewhere. _The_ Tony Stark had wanted his company and he had declined him in favour of the tedium of the American education system and Ned droning on about a new Lego Star Wars model. The latter would normally peak his interest, but the lethargy had approached unseen and started to spread through his limbs like wildfire through a forest and the energy to care had been so well hidden that even he couldn’t find it.

 

_I will rearrange the stars, pull ‘em down to where you are, I promise I’ll do better._

 

Tony has been into outer-space more times than he would like, but then his blood pressure was also higher than his doctor would like. The point is that sometimes it takes half of the universe nearly turning to dust to realise what you have.

He hadn’t realised how much the young Peter Parker had meant to him until he felt the soft, fine ash crumble through his fingers.

The wound in his chest could wait until he straightened out the scales of the universe, even if it meant rearranging the stars.

 

_With every heartbeat I have left, I’ll defend your every breath. I promise I’ll do better._

 

The school rush hour meant that there were more cars on the roads than usual.

It was strange how quickly things went back to normal, or what could possibly be constituted as normal. The kids went to school, the adults went to work, and the world kept on spinning.

But despite the trauma so many people had experienced, apparently that didn’t stop the motorist from speeding through the red light at a crossroads and hitting the car that Peter and Happy had been in.

He wouldn’t press charges, but one way or another, he would make sure the imbecile wound up in prison. He couldn’t lose the boy again, not when he had just started to open up, not when he could feel the bond between them strengthening and growing deeper.

For the past hour, he had been sat beside the boy’s bed in his own private hospital room, waiting for him to wake up. The seconds felt like hours and the minutes felt like days and the nerves building inside him made him itch for a drink in his hand, for liquid courage and just something to hold.

Although Tony would never admit it out loud, the nickname ‘friendly neighbourhood Spider-man’ was actually quite adorable and it suited the boy who lay motionless before him. He had a rare chance to look properly at him before he woke up and before the enhanced immune system and healing kicked in, and he realised that maybe he had come to see Peter as the son he may never have.

 

_I will soften every edge, hold the world to its best, I promise I’ll do better._

 

He had been out of the room when Peter had woken up, but as soon as he returned with a plastic cup filled with cucumber water (he had been refused anything stronger), he cut straight to the jump.

“We need to talk, kid.”

“I-”

“No. You need to realise there was a reason I took away your suit because it doesn’t define who you are.” Peter nodded so Tony continued, “You have so much potential, Pete, and it kills me to see you throw it away like that, and when you’re in a high-risk situation, you need to do things right.”

There was a pause between them as they both let the words spoken sink in.

“I’m sorry, Mr Stark. I promise I’ll do better next time.”

“If you’re not careful, there will be no ‘next time,’” Tony scolded, but it was like an empty threat. There was no malice in his words. Peter was about to speak again, but he held up a hand to stop him; he needed to say this before he lost the courage to. “I’m sorry too, kid. And- I mean, I won’t promise anything, but I’ll try to do better as well.”

 

_With every heartbeat I have left, I’ll defend your every breath._

 


End file.
